- There is a record of having a woman MLA from Damua assembly which was abolished after delimitation in 2004
- After that, till now, no party in district has given women a chance to become MLAs
Bharat Rai, Chhindwara
After the bill related to 33 percent reservation for women was passed at the Centre, now all the parties are busy in giving importance to women. BJP can field women candidates on almost two assembly seats in the district. The name of the woman candidate from Parasia and Amarwara of the district is being discussed. It is believed that Monica Batti, who recently resigned from the post of National President of All India Gondwana Republic Party and joined BJP, can be the candidate for the post of MLA from Amarwara, while the name of Scheduled Caste Morcha President Jyoti Dehariya from Parasia Assembly is considered almost certain. After the name of Jyoti Dehariya from Parasia Assembly surfaced on social media, other contenders who were vying for the post of MLA have accepted the ‘decision’ as a party order and sat in their homes. However, the name of the current MLA from Congress is to be decided. If the formal announcement of the names of the candidates remains the same, then for the first time, Jyoti Dehariya will face Congress’s Sohan Valmik as a woman candidate for the post of MLA from Parasia.
If we look at the scenario of the district, there is a record of having a woman MLA from Damua Assembly which was abolished after the delimitation in 2004. Till now, no party had given women a chance to become MLAs from the remaining seven assemblies. Presently Her Excellency Governor of Manipur Ms. Anusuiya Uike has been MLA from Congress once from Damua Assembly and Kamla Vadiva has been MLA from BJP once. BJP is moving forward on the issue of women empowerment, while the Shivraj Singh government of Madhya Pradesh, which is running schemes like Ladli Behna, Ladli Lakshmi for women, can stake the claim of making women MLA candidates in the upcoming assembly elections. Now it remains to be seen from how many assembly seats women candidates will be fielded in the second list of MLA candidates to be released by BJP in the coming time.
Congress will have to change strategy
In the politics of the district, till now Congress has not presented women’s candidature on all the seven assembly seats of the district, nor is there any discussion of women candidates in the party forum. Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by the Central Government in the Lok Sabha. Although it will take a few years to be implemented, but the way the efforts are going on, in the parties to give tickets to women, due to which Congress may have to change the strategy of candidate selection in the district. If Congress considers the names of women candidates for seven assembly seats in the district, then talented women leaders of the district may get a chance to become MLAs. In which the name of District Mahila Congress President Kiran Chaudhary can be taken prominently.
